Jerry Hughes

London Irish

25-22. A loss perhaps but Oh so close!... another couple of minutes and the result might have been different. We were with a depleted pack of our own up against a powerful and well drilled pack who were able at will to get set-piece ball and make ground - three London Irish tries came from rolling mauls leading from lineout or scrum, it was good to meet Seth again but not flanked by a pair of twins who were very skilled (and solid) props. However they were almost run ragged and during the last 15 minutes we had the upper hand in particular in the backs.
It all started well with Danny's boot on target and after an unconverted try by London Irish, Michael sniped through some poor defence and outran their full back (normally a wing apparently) to score under the posts (with a summersault to impress red hated John ). The following 30 minutes either side of (and particularly just after) half time were a bit torrid, with the dominance of the LI pack producing trys... the last of which was very dubious.... (but that's another story)... James B., about to be substituted, decided to question the ref consequently received a red card for ‘inappropriate’ language.
With 14 men we raised our game and with 7 man scrums played to our strengths on the day – ball out wide; we were able to break their line regularly with spectacular runs by Matt R and James S … and Danny …and Cosmo … and Leo!
We may not have won but it seemed like a moral victory - we may have been missing 5 players from the Kent final, but this was all about a squad effort showing their mettle... WELL DONE!!!